Provided - Keppel Offshore & Marine

CENTRESPREADGovernment and industry officials, offshore and marine representatives, as well as media and analysts converged at the Keppel-sponsoredSea Asia 2013 reception, held on the evening of 9 April 2013Staying on the pulseRepresentatives from companiesand industry bodies were invited toexplore pertinent maritime issuesat Sea Asia 2013’s conferences.Amongst them was Mr Chow YewYuen, COO of Keppel O&M, apanelist of the Offshore session, aplatform to discuss the current andfuture prospects of the offshoreand marine sector in Asia.At the forum, Mr Chow reiterated,“The long term fundamentals ofthe offshore and marine industryare expected to stay intact. Thisis underpinned by the increasingdemand for energy from arapidly growing middle class aswell as increased urbanisation indeveloping countries.”Mr Chow further shared thatto sustain its growth into thefuture, Keppel O&M will continueto enhance its businesses andsolutions in line with evolvingindustry requirements.Some of the key market trendshighlighted by Mr Chow includedthe growing demand for newer,higher-specification rigs, whichboast strong safety and efficiencyfeatures. Such preferences, henoted, further strengthened withthe Macondo incident. In addition,he pointed out that despite therecord number of rig deliveriesthis year, industry reports pointto a substantial shortage of suchoffshore rigs in the market.Another notable market trendMr Chow shared on is theacceleration of exploration andproduction (E&P) activities intomore challenging environments.Deepwater regions such as Brazil,West Africa and Gulf of Mexico,and harsh environments such asthe North Sea and Arctic regionshave seen growing E&P activities.Continues on page 20...OffshoreMarine March – April 201319